Carnival's Best of Cayman Excursion,anyone done it?

[Delta Dear]

I am looking at tours that offer features requiring limited mobility. Has anyone done this tour that Carnival offers in Grand Cayman. Do you stop for lunch ( husband is diabetic and will need to plan for meals,) also how do you find out the time for the tours? Finally, it says buses are 'usually coach buses,' are they equipped with rest rooms as coach tour buses here in the US usually are?

 

Thanks for any insights.

 

What about non-Carnival excursions on tour buses, do they exist at lower prices ?

 

This will be our first Carnival cruise and although we cruised once before, it was for a destination wedding and so we did not have time for any excursions. We're newbies at this.

[KOOLBEANS]

OK, I will give you a tiny bit of information. Grand Cayman is very beautiful and very safe. Although, I don't know anything about the particular excursion you are looking at thru carnival, there are many, many wonderful tour companies in grand cayman cheaper usually than from carnival. Most are quite accomodating if possible and have phone #'s to talk or email for any questions you may have. If it were me, just as a safety note, no matter where I went in a foreign country or with whom, I would always carry some sort of "quick fix" food or drink, etc., to take care of anyone with diabetes until we were able to take other measures.

 

Nativewaywatersports.com is a very good tour company, as are many others. If any questions, ask away.....

[Delta Dear]

Thank you for the information. We will be in Grand Cayman in Feb. 2010 on the Legend. The time is supposed to be from 7 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. I'm a little reluctant to book a tour ahead of time because my husband is not an early riser. At 71, he does not move as quickly in the morning as he once did, but neither do I ! LOL

 

After reading more about the port, it sounds as if we can get a certified taxi, or a tour operator there at the port for areas beyond the main area near the ship. Would you agree? We might want a tour that would be about an hour and a half vs. the three and four hour variety.

 

This is the first stop of the cruise, so we should be nice and fresh. We will want to see the beach areas, but we will not be swimming, or snorkling nor petting sting rays. We'd like to see the park and historical buildings, but donl't have to go to Hell and back. The turtles are optional, too, but they would be interesting. We'll see as much of the main attractions as we can, but mainly want to see the beauty of the island. Oh, but let me not forget; Rum Cakes ! YES.

 

I'm going to continue to explore the various sites. Thank you for your insights. Thanks for the offer to answer questions. You just may hear from me again.

[NutsAboutGolf]

OK, I will give you a tiny bit of information. Grand Cayman is very beautiful and very safe. Although, I don't know anything about the particular excursion you are looking at thru carnival, there are many, many wonderful tour companies in grand cayman cheaper usually than from carnival. Most are quite accomodating if possible and have phone #'s to talk or email for any questions you may have. If it were me, just as a safety note, no matter where I went in a foreign country or with whom, I would always carry some sort of "quick fix" food or drink, etc., to take care of anyone with diabetes until we were able to take other measures.

 

Nativewaywatersports.com is a very good tour company, as are many others. If any questions, ask away.....

 

I'm signed up for Nativeways RRR tour, will be there in a week and a half! Are they cash only or will they take a CC? Also do the majority of people tip?

[oh2bonh20]

Nativeway will take a credit card, but I would suggest cash. We toured with Nativeway and I can not say enough to cover how much we enjoyed the tour. The only snag we hit was when my credit card was charged twice. Sharon quickly fixed the issue and my account was corrected with no problem. I would not hesitate to tour with Nativeway again, but to help everyone out I would opt to pay in cash instead of a credit card.

[oh2bonh20]

I forgot to say that we did tip, and it appeared the other passengers tipped as well. They deserved it as they did an awesome job! I can't remember how much, but I think $30 for the three of us, or around $10 per person.

[benvan2]

I am looking at tours that offer features requiring limited mobility. Has anyone done this tour that Carnival offers in Grand Cayman. Do you stop for lunch ( husband is diabetic and will need to plan for meals,) also how do you find out the time for the tours? Finally, it says buses are 'usually coach buses,' are they equipped with rest rooms as coach tour buses here in the US usually are?

 

Thanks for any insights.

 

What about non-Carnival excursions on tour buses, do they exist at lower prices ?

 

This will be our first Carnival cruise and although we cruised once before, it was for a destination wedding and so we did not have time for any excursions. We're newbies at this.

 

This might have more what your interested in,caymaninanutshelldotcom. We might do this in November. I've been to GC twice and this time going without kids, so don't really want to do beach or stingrays so we might try this. Someone on our roll call has gotten enough people to to the Go East tour. So if you want to do that tour you might check in on your roll call and see if anyone else would be interested. The half shell tour is the standard tour that almost all the different companies offer and you can find that when you get off the ship right on the pier without booking in advance.

 

oh, I didn't see any coach buses, just vans.

[GeckoGirl]

I am looking at tours that offer features requiring limited mobility. Has anyone done this tour that Carnival offers in Grand Cayman. Do you stop for lunch ( husband is diabetic and will need to plan for meals,) also how do you find out the time for the tours? Finally, it says buses are 'usually coach buses,' are they equipped with rest rooms as coach tour buses here in the US usually are?

 

Thanks for any insights.

 

What about non-Carnival excursions on tour buses, do they exist at lower prices ?

 

This will be our first Carnival cruise and although we cruised once before, it was for a destination wedding and so we did not have time for any excursions. We're newbies at this.

 

 

We booked the Best of Cayman Island Tour for our cruise coming up in November and the paperwork says the tour starts at 8:45am, hope that helps some. And if no one else can answer your other questions, I can let you know when we get back what the coach buses where and how many stops they allowed etc.

[Delta Dear]

Thanks for the responses. There is a Best of Cayman tour offered at 11:45, which I think we will take. My husband is not very speedy in the morning so that would allow us to have a relaxing breakfast, so some shopping at the pier area first, then take the tour and return to the ship.

 

I did hear on another board from someone who took this tour. The bus is air conditioned, no rest room, but they make two stops in the 3 hour tour so that will be just fine.

 

Enjoy it and let me know how you liked it.

[Life without whine]

Nativeway will take a credit card, but I would suggest cash. We toured with Nativeway and I can not say enough to cover how much we enjoyed the tour. The only snag we hit was when my credit card was charged twice. Sharon quickly fixed the issue and my account was corrected with no problem. I would not hesitate to tour with Nativeway again, but to help everyone out I would opt to pay in cash instead of a credit card.

 

Anyone ever pay with travelers checks - they say you can & I am always a little more comfortable with that kinda paper (don't ask why ...I don't know!)